The Chains That Bind
by jinjyaa
Summary: Kazahaya's past and present collide for his 18th birthday, as dangers unfold that even Kakei and Saiga can't see. Only Rikuo can save Kazahaya from a family reunion, and finally get intimate with Kazahaya in the bargain.
1. Coming of Age

**Legal Drug : The Chains That Bind – Chapter 1**

Summary: Kazahaya's past and present collide for his 18th birthday, as dangers unfold that even Kakei and Saga can't see. Only Rikuo can save Kazahaya from a family reunion, and finally get intimate with Kazahaya in the bargain - more intimate than Rikuo had bargained for. First chapter of the _Chains That Bind_ story arc.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to _Legal Drug_, of course, which was written/drawn by CLAMP.

This was my first attempt at a fanfic.

Names:

Kudo Kazahaya – about to be birthday boy (17)

Himura Rikuo – his room-mate (17)

Kakei – drugstore manager the boys work for

Saiga – Kakei's hanger-on

Kudo Kei – Kazahaya's sister (only met in memories before)

Tsukiko – a girl disappeared from Rikuo's past, before Kazahaya joined them

**Chapter 1 – Coming of Age**

"Stop banging! I'm coming already!" Kazahaya called. He opened the apartment door to Rikuo's dark T-shirt, striped with sweat, backing into the room. Saiga's sunglasses bobbed up the stairs behind him as Rikuo made room on the landing. Rikuo knocking at their habitually unlocked door was explained by what the men carried between them.

_"A box fan!" _ squealed Kazahaya. "Saiga, I love you!" Rikuo glowered at him. Kazahaya added defensively, "Well, did you pay for it?"

"No. I just carry heavy things. Like you." Rikuo kicked his own shoes off, then kicked his room-mate's shoes out of the way. Kazahaya took the hint and scurried to pick up the living room to make space for the fan. The room being near-barren, this took only moments before the 3-foot square heavy-duty fan was purring like a tiger, Rikuo's morning newspaper flapping in the corner in the gale.

"_Ahhhh!_" moaned Kazahaya. Clad only in sketchy shorts, he assumed a prayerful lotus pose before the wind. "This feels so good…."

"Well, happy birthday, Kudo-kun," said Saiga. "The present's a bit early, but Kakei _really_ doesn't want you sleeping on the roof again. You looked like you had measles this morning."

Reminded, Kazahaya scratched at a few mosquito bites between his shoulder blades. There'd been no choice last night about the roof. It was the worst week yet of Tokyo's sweltering sticky August heat. The upstairs apartment was unbearable. But the tarred roof hadn't been an improvement.

"Thank you, thank you! And thank Kakei for me, too!" Kazahaya flopped back on the tatami mat floor, spread-eagled to present maximum skin to the wind.

"Ah, the box fan's from me. Kakei has another present in mind for Friday." Friday would be Kazahaya's actual 18th birthday.

"Ooh!" Kazahaya hugged himself in anticipation. "I wonder what!"

"Oh, and Kakei wants you to put this on your bug bites," Saiga said, placing a pink bottle on the table.

"Yes, Dad!" Kazahaya sang.

Rikuo had wandered into the kitchen, boiling water for instant ramen. More cooking than that was out of the question tonight. "And Himura-kun! At least serve some fruit with it if you're eating that freeze-dried junk for supper."

"Yes, Mom," Rikuo sneered.

"And don't call me Mom. Well, seeya tomorrow," Saga said cheerfully, and headed back downstairs to the drugstore.

Rikuo leaned against the wall, waiting for the water to boil. His eyes narrowed, watching Kazahaya enjoy his new fan with every inch of his skin. _He's three months older than me. But he's like a little kid. How could he be my age and so…clueless. But so sexy… _

Pouring the boiling water into the ramen cups, Rikuo's eyes lit on the Tokyo Disneyland spray bottle Kazahaya used for their one plant, a lush fern currently strewing green confetti to the wind. _It was half dead when he found it by the trash cans. He's with it when it comes to plants and animals. How could he know _nothing_ about _anything_ else? _Sneaking up on Kazahaya was easy in the noise of the fan, and he maliciously sprayed his room-mate head to foot.

"_Oooh,_ thank you!" Kazahaya cried, flipping over onto his stomach to yield space in front of the fan to Rikuo. He craned his neck to look up Rikuo's long black-clad legs with an ecstatic childlike grin. "Spray my back?"

Taken aback by the stunning smile, Rikuo flushed deeply, eyes narrowed.

"Rikuo, you look flushed. How can you wear all that black in this heat? Get some shorts on. We'll have a water fight!"

Rikuo sprayed him full in the face, then down his back and legs, and turned away. He busied himself steeping instant ramen and putting pears and grapes into a bowl. Kazahaya closed his eyes again and happily basked in the fan blowing across his dripping backside. Drops of water quivered in the light, a little rivulet running along his spine. _I don't know how much more of this I can take,_ thought Rikuo. "Food's ready," he said.

Kazahaya bounded to his seat at the table and said, "Itadakimasu!" as every Japanese child is taught, and started slurping ramen. "Let's both sleep out here tonight, right?" Rikuo's narrowed eyes focused exclusively on the universe of his ramen cup. Tentatively, Kazahaya said, "I tried napping in your room earlier – it's worse than mine."

"Stay the hell out of my room."

Kazahaya slammed his spoon down and half-raised himself, fists on the table. "Why do you have to be such a bastard about everything! It's my birthday fan, I don't _have _to share it! Can't you ever be nice?"

_Be nice. Be kind to living things like dead ferns. Always give thanks for your food at the supper table. Why did I have to fall for a first grader in a gorgeous body?_ _I don't want to play _nice _with him… _"Yeah," sneered Rikuo. "We'll have a _nice slumber party_ in the living room. Baby."

-oOo-

"_Good morning!_" crooned Kakei to the boys with vicious enthusiasm. It was mid-morning in the drugstore, but Kakei had been away for an appointment until then. "Himura-kun, you look so _refreshed_. The heat's had you sleeping together two nights in a row now, right? How … _fun_."

Kazahaya, who actually did look quite fresh, said, "Oh, the fan was great! Best night's sleep I've had in a week! Saiga is an angel!"

"Mm, yes. Himura-kun, may I speak to you in the back room?" Rikuo, looking like death warmed over, followed him to the back.

Closing the door, Kakei said, "I have a mission just for you this time. I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret from Kudo-kun." Rikuo's eyebrow lifted suspiciously. "Oh, there's nothing he could help with – all quite simple for you to do. And the item you're retrieving is a birthday present, something only Kudo could use as it was meant to be used."

"The current owner can't appreciate it properly, eh?" Rikuo said. Saiga snorted from where he lay on the couch behind him.

"_Exactly_. You'll see after we give it to Kudo-kun - it's quite specially suited to him. The item is a silver ring, attached to a silver bracelet by fine chains." Kakei extended a long delicate left hand and wrist to trace how the ring and bracelet would drape on it. "It's quite wasted on the middle aged woman it currently belongs to, not her thing at all, locked up in a jewelry box. All you need to do is go into her house and take it from the lockbox in her bedroom on the second floor, and come back."

"Breaking and entering."

"The locks will be child's play for you. You have a unobserved window when the house will be empty and no neighbors to avoid from 11:35-12:50. Simple. I've already text messaged the address to your cell phone. You'll need to leave in about ten minutes."

"Do I get paid, or just have the pleasure of contributing to Kudo's birthday present?"

"Both," Kakei said sourly. "But remember – Kudo-kun must not touch, er, see the item before his birthday. Without fail."

"Got it."

As Rikuo returned to the front of the store, closing the door behind him, Saiga rose and embraced Kakei from the back, snaking an arm across his belly and under his white manager's jacket, nuzzling at his neck. "Himura was breaking locks as a toddler. My intelligence is flawless, he shouldn't get caught. So what's eating you? Besides me," Saiga asked, nipping Kakei's ear with his lips.

Kakei frowned, but didn't answer immediately. "I can't see what comes next. It's a white-out. Everything around Kudo-kun. In a week or so, there are paths. Some have Kudo and Himura still with us as a team. Some Himura alone. In some we lose both of them. But where the branching happens…it's all lost in the white-out."

"Like with Himura and Tsukiko…" murmured Saiga. "But you still want to send Himura alone?"

"Yes. I'm sure of that. I don't want to let Kudo out of our sight any more than necessary. Physically, since I can't… Himura either, but this mission's special. The item is really for both of them. But…let's not tell Himura about the white-out, hm? It's best that he…not know. That this is like…when we lost Tsukiko."

Saiga cuddled him closer. "We'll protect them. And the ring will help, hmm?"

-oOo-

With a few customers drifting around the store, and the rest of the staff in the back room, Kazahaya was hanging out by the cash register, tidying the magazine and knick-knack racks. He was frowning deeply at the cover of a magazine on flower arranging. As Rikuo pulled off his store apron and stashed it behind the counter, he asked, "Rikuo, what does this say?"

Rikuo read the simple cover to him. "Kazahaya… Did you actually _pass_ grammar school?"

"Um… Why'd you take off your apron?"

"Going out. Kakei job."

"_Without me?!_" Kazahaya wailed. "I want a job! I need the _money_…"

"Maybe next time, dum-dum," Rikuo said, and the door chimes clanged as he went out.

_Dum-dum. Idiot. Baby. He never treats me with any respect. Nobody does. Because I really_ am_ stupid… _Kazahaya tried to read the flower arranging article that caught his eye. It was their birthdays, and it was just the kind of thing Kei would love. But it was just too hard. As Rikuo had just pointed out, he didn't know half the kanji needed to graduate grammar school. _If I did, if I knew them, maybe people wouldn't think I'm so stupid._

When he came up front again, Kazahaya asked, "Kakei-san, can I take a 15 minute break? There's a book I want to buy."

Kakei blinked, and smiled sweetly. "A _book_. Sure sweetie-pie. It'll be nice to see you _reading._"

Later, while Kazahaya ate lunch in the back, Kakei stole a peek at _the book_ he'd hidden below the cash register. Kazahaya had bought a kanji primer, all 1800-odd characters one needed to pass high school, the first 800-odd grammar school characters with much more detail. The book mark was partway through the 3rd grade kanji. Next to the book were some index cards taken from the drugstore, apparently with the first 10 characters Kazahaya had chosen to master. _Reason, or logic. To play. Leaves, or foliage. Journey…._ Kakei laid the book back where he found it with a crooked yet tender smile. _No brains, but plenty of spirit…._

-oOo-

Rikuo reached the house a bit early, so rested on a bus stop bench a couple blocks away. He wanted to wait at least ten minutes into the unobserved window Saiga promised. But there was no shade to be had on the neighborhood's main street. He was hot and tired, the glaring sun was giving him a headache, and the humidity and car exhaust were making it hard to breathe.

_Light dancing off water drops, quivering on Kazahaya's back, soft light hair ruffling, cool in the breeze of the box fan…. Don't think about that. The half-dark at night, the curves of Kazahaya's shoulder blades, three pinkish splotches where Rikuo had dabbed calamine on the bug bites Kazahaya couldn't reach. Tossing and turning through the night, not quite asleep or awake, always aware of that other near-naked body next to his… _

_Think about something else. That flower magazine…those words, at what, a 5__th__ grade level? So, OK, he ditched school and he's none too bright. But, even so, there's nothing. How could someone live 18 years like me and pick up…nothing? It doesn't add up. Even if he didn't go to school, even if he never left the yard, even if he's dimwitted, surely there'd be…something. Something to show for 18 years. Can anyone be so sheltered? So natural, childlike, petlike, trusting… Though, it's fun to shelter him…carrying him home, cuddling him, having him cling to me… _

_Don't go there! Damn, I hope this heat wave breaks before I do. Finally - time to do the job._

The house had a high wall with a tiny strip of yard inside, but no lock on the gate. Rikuo put his own key into the doorknob for show while breaking the lock mechanism with his mind. Inside, the entryway was embarrassingly normal and middle-class. He had to stop himself from replacing his shoes with indoor slippers. Feeling like a cad, he wandered up the stairs in his street shoes. In the upstairs hall there were a number of boxes sitting half-opened. It looked like someone was slowly sorting through sad relics of inherited memorabilia.

He glanced at both bedrooms quickly, but the right one was obvious. A small locked jewelry box sat on a small, aged vanity with darkening mirror, both made of some rich reddish wood, shining with well-waxed care. Rikuo easily broke the lock with his mind and opened the box. No sifting required – the silver ring and bracelet and chain contraption was right on top. It would look great with black leathers, but woefully out of place atop the woman's fine gold and pearl and diamond jewelry. _Kazahaya could carry off wearing this delicate stuff, too, but the chains would look better._ He shut the lid sharply on the box and the thought. _Daydream after you're outta here._

After the first bus and a change of trains, Rikuo felt safe enough taking out the ring contraption to study it. The ring only fit on his pinkie, though it would do for slight Kazahaya's middle or ring finger. The bracelet had a sixth chain for its closure, which dangled a couple centimeters free after fitting Rikuo's wrist. The ring-to-bracelet chains were a puzzle, one quite a bit longer than the others. With the ring on his pinkie, and the longest fine chain at its maximum, Rikuo couldn't quite get it to reach across his palm, between his thumb and forefinger, and hooked at the only place to hook it, on the back of the hand near the base of the thumb. So on Kazahaya, on the middle finger, there would be two chains widening in a V to meet the chain below his palm, another two chain V on the back, and this fifth chain wrapping across to the back. Sexy as hell, especially the dangling feel of the bracelet closure chain's tail.

Rikuo took the device off and shortened the 4 chains to the right length for Kazahaya's hand, not even noticing that he knew exactly how long they should be, exactly how Kazahaya's hand compared to his own, knew for a fact the ring would fit on the middle finger. There was an inscription inside the ring, written tiny and worn.

**Feel as I feel. Ri love Ka.**

_What a truly_ interesting _relationship that must have been,_ Rikuo thought wryly. _Some chains for you like the ones you use on me…_ Then he blushed furiously, realizing the kana characters engraved as shorthand could stand for _Rikuo_ and _Kazahaya_ as well. He guiltily stuffed the bracelet set into his jeans pocket, and glanced out to see how far he was from the station where he switched to a subway. _A guy,_ he realized, remembering the boxes in the hallway, and the heft and length of the chains. The guy's romantic youth was about forty or fifty years back, judging from the memorabilia. Rikuo got off the train and bounded down several flights of stairs to reach the subway platform. _This thing wasn't remotely in style. Heh, but if Kakei wanted this much read, he would have sent Kazahaya with me. Me, he just assumed I'd enjoy breaking things and never give it a second thought. Or…maybe not._

Back at the drugstore, Rikuo went straight to the back room, and handed the jewelry over to Kakei, relieved to get rid of it, the "Ri love Ka" inscription seeming to burn in his front pocket.

"It's beautiful. Wish there were two."

"Or four. Or eight," Kakei laughed. "But no, this one's special. It needs someone like our Kudo-kun on one end, or it's mere sexy jewelry."

"Mmm. Well, _very_ sexy jewelry. What does it do attached to Kudo?"

"You'll see." Kakei smiled most evilly.

"Outright theft, though. Kind of a bald crime even by your standards, Kakei, wasn't it?"

"Ah, but this, _this_ was meant for a special person, not the nice lady who inherited it." Kakei read the inscription and his eyes widened. He murmured, "One hardly thinks _Ri_ would have wanted to chain it to _her_ hand."

Rikuo flushed dark and accused flatly, "You _knew_ about the inscription."

"No…but I_ like_ it." Kakei smiled his most impish smile and made shooing motions. "Now back to work, I'm paying you twice for your time!"

-oOo-

"How'd it go? Are you alright?" Kazahaya asked eagerly while Rikuo tied his apron back on.

Rikuo paused, then settled on a simple evasion. "Failed. Didn't find the item."

"Oh, too bad! But, hey, it was great working here without you. The girls talked to _me _for a change." Kazahaya grinned. Clearly he was more interested in his day than Rikuo's. "You know the one with the green high school uniform? Cute bouncy short hair tied back with a green ribbon? _She_ asked _me_ out on a date Friday night!"

Rikuo felt like an elevator jerked to a stop beneath his feet. He had no right to feel like this…. He stared blankly at his room-mate for a moment, face draining, before groping his way to a comeback. "Friday, huh? Well, we've got separate bedrooms. Don't expect me to clear out so you have the place to yourself."

"_What?!_ We're just going to a _Bon_ dance! It's a_ first date!_ It's not like she'd expect me to even kiss her on a first date!" Rikuo just glared at him, and Kazahaya grew worried. "Um…would she? I've never kissed anybody before. Except my…" Rikuo smirked. "Oh, hell! You're just making fun of me!"

"You've kissed me. You're not bad at it. Natural, sweet."

Kazahaya turned scarlet. "WHAT!? I HAVE NOT! Or…damnit, have I?" It was Kazahaya's turn to be struck speechless. He whispered, "I don't remember it. I hate this, hate not remembering, hate being weak like this." His eyes teared up, though the tears didn't fall.

Rikuo swallowed, hard. "I'll help you practice. Later. If you want. It was on a job before. I'll tell you later."

Kazahaya nodded and didn't trust himself to speak. They both got back to work stocking shelves, in different parts of the store.

-oOo-

In the dark that night, in the breeze of the box fan in their living room, Kazahaya lay on the tatami mats, mouthing a pear. Rikuo came out of a cool shower . He settled beside his room-mate on the floor to sleep, then propped himself up on one elbow to talk.

"Forty kanji. Don't you think you should take it slower?"

Kazahaya sat bolt upright. "What?"

"You learning the elementary school kanji. Forty at a time is kinda hard. I can quiz you on them if you want."

"That was supposed to be a secret!"

"From…whom? If you wanted to keep it secret, you should have picked someplace better than the cash register to hide your work. Besides, if you bring it up here at night I can help you with it."

"You won't tell Kakei, will you?"

"Um, actually, Kakei told me. He asked me to be _supportive_. He didn't need to ask – I'm impressed. If you don't know the kanji, it takes guts to admit it and memorize them now. Better late than never."

The conversation dwindled to a companionable silence. Kazahaya returned to sucking on his pear.

"What are you doing?"

Kazahaya looked sheepish in the gloom. Between street lights and bright signs and traffic and the complete lack of window dressings, the room never really got dark. "Um, practicing kissing. Just in case." He braced for a cutting remark, but none arrived. So he took a careful bite and went back to figuring out how to kiss the pear mouth he'd just cut. Rikuo stayed up on his elbow watching this, his face mercifully in shadow.

"You were in a trance, in someone else's memories." Kazahaya jumped at the sound of Rikuo's soft voice. "When I kissed you before. Don't worry. You're good at it."

The silence stretched a while, then Kazahaya's voice came vanishingly small, "But I don't _remember _being good at it."

Rikuo reached over and pulled Kazahaya's hand and pear to his mouth, and took a small bite. "So kiss me now and remember it." He licked some pear juice off of Kazahaya's fingers. Kazahaya lay there frozen, eyes wide. So Rikuo bent down and kissed him lightly. Then kissed him harder as Kazahaya's lips started to move on a, "But…"

He was good at it. Natural and sweet, just as Rikuo remembered, just as he'd said. Kazahaya's mouth was fresh with mint toothpaste, sweet with pear juice, and yielded to Rikuo's whenever it should yield, pressed harder just when Rikuo would have wanted him to kiss harder. And after the first half-hearted "But…", Kazahaya objected not at all.

In the dark later, Rikuo could still taste the minty pear freshness on clean teeth, to the point he was almost ready to brush his teeth and eat a pear again to revive the memory. Kazahaya had fallen asleep in his arms soon after they'd started kissing, without a word. A restless Rikuo had eventually laid him to lie separately. The sound of his breathing was drowned by the raucous box fan propeller, but Rikuo could see the regular rise and fall of his ribs and belly in the neon-tinged gloom.

Rikuo rolled onto his stomach, burying his head in his arms. _Let me kiss him again. I'll buy a watermelon. The juice will drip down his chest…_

-oOo-

_Please review?_


	2. The Overbooked Birthday

**Legal Drug : The Chains That Bind – Chapter 2**

Summary: Kazahaya's past and present collide for his 18th birthday, as dangers unfold that even Kakei and Saga can't see. Only Rikuo can save Kazahaya from a family reunion, and finally get intimate with Kazahaya in the bargain - more intimate than Rikuo had bargained for. First chapter of the _Chains That Bind_ story arc.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to _Legal Drug_, of course. This was my first attempt at a fanfic.

**Chapter 2 – The Overbooked Birthday**

"Practice morning kiss?" Rikuo said half-jokingly, handing cornflakes over Kazahaya's shoulder at breakfast. He kept it light, easy for the other boy to also joke off if he didn't welcome the advance. But Rikuo kept his face within kissing distance while he asked, so it was easy for Kazahaya to accept lightly, too.

"_WHAT!?_ _Pervert before breakfast?!"_

_I'll take that as a no… _Rikuo sat down hard and glowered at Kazahaya, wishing he'd brought his newspaper to the table, but too stubborn to go fetch it.

"Don't just pretend you didn't say it! What the hell was that? Itadakimasu!" Kazahaya dug vehemently into his cornflakes.

"It was a joke. Just offering to help you again with your kissing practice. Thought I'd try being_ friendly_. Don't bite my head off."

"What are you talking about?" Kazahaya's big eyes stared at him, annoyed and completely innocent.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Rikuo flushed dark and his eyes narrowed. "I'm talking about helping you with your kiss-a-pear project last night."

Kazahaya's stare just turned more puzzled. "You, helped me, kiss…a pear? Is this, um, supposed to make sense?"

Rikuo's dark flush began turning ashen. He whispered, "Quit kidding around, Kazahaya. You remember kissing me last night." He made it a flat statement, but realization was beginning to dawn.

"_EWWW! DID NOT!_ What are you_ saying_?!"

Rikuo swallowed, hard. "Forget it. Just kidding." He made his very best effort at a dark smirk. "Just jealous of your pear."

The pieces came together. _Kazahaya didn't fall asleep in my arms. He _passed out_ after kissing me, the way he passes out after a strong vision. He didn't respond to my kiss, he lived it – from_ my_ side. Then, on his side…._

_Oh, hell. He wasn't even there._

-oOo-

"Good morning!" Saiga boomed jovially, grabbing Kazahaya around the waist from behind for a hug. Kazahaya squirmed away as usual.

"Sleep well?" Kakei inquired sweetly of Rikuo, who'd barely slept at all the past three nights.

The chimes rang on the shop door and they quit their banter, Kazahaya and Kakei wandering off to work. The guy who'd walked in was around 20, dressed in black leathers and chains. Perhaps in deference to the oppressive August heat, the jacket was zipped down to his navel, with nothing underneath except some necklaces of knotted black leather and silver ornaments. Not an ounce of fat anywhere, muscular chest and abs rippling, and spiked hair tipped with blond.

"Scenic. Pity no rent there," Saiga commented softly to Rikuo, eyes as always hidden behind dark sunglasses. "Diversion?"

Rikuo pretended not to hear him. He walked over to the customer and asked if he needed help, doing his best to pose and openly eye the other man's body. After an animated discussion, in which the two young men didn't keep their hands entirely to themselves, the customer left.

"What the hell was _that!?_" demanded Kazahaya, shrilly.

"_That_ was_ my_ date for tomorrow night," said Rikuo, as coldly as he could manage.

"_That_ was _not_ your date for tomorrow night," corrected Kakei. "Tomorrow is Kudo-kun's birthday. We're working the store all day, then celebrating at night as a family. You'll have to reschedule. Absolutely."

"But," said Kazahaya, "I have a date tomorrow night, too."

Kakei and Saiga turned and stared at him.

"With the girl in the green high school uniform, with the cute bouncy short hair and the green hair ribbons…" Kazahaya's voice dwindled off.

Kakei put his arm around him and said, "How…_sweet!_ But, of course you need to reschedule, honey. I've already made plans, and it's really too intimidating for a first date, for the girl to meet your_ family."_

"But – "

"Reschedule. Absolutely." Kakei's voice took on a hard edge, and his hug got firmer and less friendly. "My treat. Shabu-shabu in Roppongi. And your surprise birthday present!"

Saiga winced at the magnitude of the bribe – Kakei had _not_ intended to treat all four of them to shabu-shabu in upscale Roppongi, at a price tag of around $300. Plus a birthday cake… No doubt Saiga was doomed to bake that, in the August heat, to save money.

_"Really?!"_ cried Kazahaya. "Well, OK. I'll postpone my date. I'm sure she'll understand. A surprise?"

"Yes, a surprise." Kakei patted him fondly in relief.

"Have fun without me," said Rikuo.

"Himura-kun –" Kakei began.

Saiga cut him off, pulling Kakei away from Kazahaya. "I'll take the son, Mom, you handle our daughter," Saiga said softly in Kakei's ear.

Kakei glowered at this outworn joke, then realized that Kazahaya was staring at the retreating Rikuo in shock, about two steps from tears. And sighed. "You're right… _And don't call me Mom_," he hissed, and made a quick vicious grab at Saiga's crotch as they parted.

While Saiga trooped after Rikuo, Kakei turned to Kazahaya, and crooned, "Don't worry. We'll all be together tomorrow night for your birthday."

"He doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to! That guy…that guy Rikuo was with…is he, safe, you think?"

Kazahaya was getting closer to tears. _What the hell is this? I'm jealous? I'm disgusted? And my date…was I trying to make _him_ jealous? That's crazy, jealous of a guy, and a guy, and trying to make a guy jealous of me, or rather, of my date, and… And it's my birthday! And he'd rather go…do what? What will he do with that scary-looking guy… And the two bedrooms. Not clearing out? Could he bring someone like that _home_ on my birthday? In the_ other room_?!_

"Mmm, don't you just love shabu-shabu?"

"Um, yeah."

"Your favorite, isn't it? And what kind of cake would you like, sweetie?" Kazahaya was staring at the spot where Rikuo and Saiga had disappeared behind the shelving. "How about cheesecake, with strawberries on it?" That made Kazahaya's eyes track to Kakei. "But I don't know if I should give you any hints about your surprise…"

"Oh, no, Kakei-san! I love surprises! And, um, strawberry cheesecake would be awesome!"

"You do have the young lady's phone number so you can reschedule?" Kakei asked solicitously. He was confident that Kazahaya's date would never happen with the cute girl with the bouncy green ribbon.

"Oh, sure. She'll understand. It's – Wow, Kakei-san, shabu-shabu and cheesecake, that's so rich! You guys take such good care of me!" The tears finally did brim over, but on Kakei's shoulder, masquerading as gratitude for an extravagant birthday treat.

Meanwhile, in the aisle with the household paper goods, Saiga handled the "son".

"Look, it's this simple, Himura-kun. Kakei says you have to eat with us."

"And I told you. I'm eating something else."

Saiga snorted. "Grab his clone another day at any adult bookshop. Don't make this difficult. Kakei says, and I'm supposed to be handling you."

"Handle yourself. Or have Kakei make himself useful."

"It's Kudo-kun's birthday."

"Yeah, and my birthday's in November. I saw your face when Kakei trotted out the shabu-shabu-in-Roppongi plan. Would he even pay for burgers and fries for _my_ birthday?"

Saiga chuckled and chalked up a point in thin air. "But you _know_ how your mother and I _try _to be fair… So, what's the issue, Himura-kun? Your hunky leather boy isn't going to outbid shabu-shabu. Make it easier on both of us - just take the bribe."

"I…can't. I need a break from all this togetherness."

Saiga looked surprisingly alarmed by this lightweight entry into the banter. He leaned closer. "What gives? Did something happen between you two last night?"

"None of your business."

"Maybe. Won't know until you tell me."

"Just did. _None_ of your business."

Saiga leaned back and stretched an arm down the shelf behind him, toying with a price marker. "So… Alright. Too much togetherness. And the leather lad is…what? To you."

"An antidote. The anti-Kudo." Rikuo looked up into Saiga's black sunglasses. "I can't take much more of this without a break. Too much Kudo."

Saiga exaggerated his shelf lounging. "You done venting yet? I'm getting bored."

"I was serious. That time." Rikuo paused to let Saiga respond, but Saiga just waited. "He's…" he began, but trailed off.

"Sexy?" Saiga suggested. "Innocent? Clueless? You want him but you can't have him?"

Rikuo flushed and looked away.

Saiga pursed his lips thinking. "OK, I can get that it's a bit frustrating for you." Rikuo snorted. "But would you really want to be rid of him?"

Rikuo's head snapped up and around at that. "No." Saiga kept staring at him, so he demanded, "Why?"

"Can't tell you that. _Can_ tell you we need you tomorrow night. You might never find out why. Knock on wood, _we _might never find out why. But hey, _Kakei_ is spending $300 for shabu-shabu. You can't pass that up. Drop the boy toy, come with us."

"…Alright."

"How'd it go?" Kakei asked, as Saiga rejoined him at the back of the store. Both their young workers were back to stocking and tidying shelves, avoiding each other.

Saiga made a feint for Kakei's crotch in retribution, and let his hand get captured. "…Not well," he answered. At Kakei's raised eyebrow, he added, "He'll join us for dinner tomorrow, I think. But… How'd it go with you?"

"You're making strawberry cheesecake. What do you mean, 'But…'?"

"I hope your slinky bracelet isn't too little too late."

-oOo-

Rikuo slept like a log. He lay down in his clothes without eating dinner after work, and didn't wake until Kazahaya rolled him over Friday morning, Kazahaya's birthday. Kazahaya ended up making breakfast as well, as Rikuo stumbled groggily into a cool shower. The birthday boy was just about to work himself into a tantrum about this, _Why am I doing an extra share of chores on my birthday? _when Rikuo came up behind him in the kitchenette, and reached a small present around him.

"It's not much. Just wanted to get you something from me. There's something fancier later from Kakei and me. Sorry I overslept."

Kazahaya broke into a beaming smile and spun around to open the present between them. He tore the wrapping paper apart, letting the pieces fly in the fan breeze. "Ooh, socks! _Thank you_, Rikuo!" He touched the gray fluffy spa socks in surprise. "Wow, these are so soft!" He stroked them along his jaw. "These are the softest socks I've ever touched! Thank you!" Snuggling socks, his face beamed as brightly as it had been before he'd opened the gift.

Rikuo looked away in embarrassment at this sock rapture. "Seems silly in this heat."

"Not at all!" Kazahaya was clearly a generous receiver of gifts. "I was so cold when we met…. I love them! All of you are so kind to me – and you're in on a present for me later? Plus the shabu-shabu and cheesecake? Wow…."

"Yeah, well. Happy birthday. Um, let's eat."

Kazahaya proudly wore his soft new socks to work, and showed them off to Kakei and Saiga, insisting that they pet the socks to appreciate their softness.

-oOo-

Kazahaya and Rikuo took turns running upstairs to change before the drugstore closed that night, so they'd be ready for the restaurant jaunt to Roppongi. Rikuo put on a fresh black T-shirt and black jeans, and added earrings and a choker. Kazahaya must have borrowed an ironing board somewhere, because his button down shirt was freshly shiny with starch. His jeans and shirt were dark chocolate brown, the shirt with faint silver tracings on it. For once, his shirt was tucked in, accentuating his slim waist and broad shoulders. Taking his cue from Rikuo, he also wore a few black-and-silver chokers twined together and an earring. They both looked great.

Kakei wore his usual, save in finer fabric. The beige mock turtleneck was cashmere instead of bargain-store cotton-polyester. The tan pants were tropic weight wool instead of cheap chinos. Saiga's inevitable black jeans, black sunglasses, and bright white T-shirt, were made festive with a red rayon Hawaiian shirt, printed with cheerful beige and white palm trees and pineapples.

Kakei bade Kazahaya relax and work the register the rest of the day. His stack of index cards had grown to 60 kanji. Rikuo quizzed him – Kazahaya recognized them all correctly. But his character drawing was atrocious. Most of the index cards had his kanji crossed out and re-penned by Kakei. Between customers, Kazahaya practiced his penmanship. He took frequent breaks to suck a pear, or fondle his socks dreamily.

Rikuo just couldn't watch the pear practice anymore, and was fidgetting with already-tidy shelves to kill time. _He learns fast. Or, well…he's usually lazy, but he learns well enough. If anyone had taught him, he would have learned his kanji. He couldn't have gone to school…_ He sucked his freshly brushed teeth. _Watermelon mint… Don't think about it anymore!_

Ten minutes before closing, Rikuo's hot leather-and-chains guy breezed in. He casually looped an arm around Rikuo and stuck a hand in his back pocket. A intimate whispered conversation ensued.

Kazahaya chomped down on a huge bite of pear, staring at this wide-eyed.

"Kakei-san, I'm gonna knock off, OK?" Rikuo said, taking off his apron and heading to put it away neatly behind the register counter.

Kakei looked alarmed. "Himura-kun, as I told you, we have plans for tonight. _All _of us. _Together. _You don't mind, do you?" he added pointedly to Rikuo's leather boy. "Another time. Today is Kudo-kun's birthday." He tilted his head to indicate Kazahaya at the register.

"Well, I mind. Cheer up, you're saving $75 on dinner," replied Rikuo.

"Himura-kun, you _cannot_ go. The consequences will be…_quite_ inconvenient." Kakei's voice grew shrill.

Saiga laughed and threw an arm around Kakei. "Hey, more for us, right? Can't be helped, Ma." Kakei glared at him and gnawed at one of two remaining fingernails on that hand.

Unconcerned, Rikuo's date selected a box of condoms and took them to Kazahaya at the register. "How much for the _condoms?_" he asked Kazahaya. Kazahaya rung them up, blushing furiously. "Your birthday, huh? Well, many happy returns. Maybe we'll see you later." He tried making eye contact with Kazahaya, but the younger boy glowered at his pear.

"Kudo doesn't mind, do you, Kudo-san?" Rikuo said roughly. "We're together 24 - 7. A bonus present, you get rid of me for a few hours, right?" Rikuo's date walked out to wait on the sidewalk. Rikuo headed after him, but paused by Kazahaya, not meeting his eyes. "Happy birthday, really. I…will see you later. Have fun with the guys."

"In November, your birthday," Kazahaya hissed, "I'll _remember_ this."

"Will you? Remember?" Rikuo said, meeting his eyes briefly with the oddest look.

"What do you MEAN?! OF COURSE I'LL FUCKING REMEMBER!" At point-blank range, Kazahaya easily hit Rikuo square in the mouth with his pear.

Rikuo reflexively licked his lips, and winced as he tasted the pear juice mingle with mint toothpaste. "Later," he said, and stalked out.

Out on the street, his date inquired, "Is this a problem? Could catch you another time."

Rikuo shook his head darkly and they headed for the train station a couple blocks away. Just as they were about to go in, a teen-aged girl came out in full kimono, traditional tabi socks and all. A decorative summer cotton yukata would have been an unusual treat for the eyes on an August evening, but full silk kimono, coming out of a train station, was downright odd.

Distracted by the outfit, Rikuo and date were halfway to their change of trains in Shibuya before Rikuo realized that the girl herself looked familiar, but he just couldn't place her. He shrugged it off. _Maybe someone from high school, before Tsukiko and I dropped out. Seems like a lifetime ago…_

-oOo-

Kakei closed out the register. He fastidiously cleared the counter of broken mechanical pencil points. Kazahaya's last several columns of penmanship practice featured torn paper and jagged lines, so he threw the practice paper away. _That would be discouraging…_

Saiga was outside closing the window gates, when a girl in bright yellow and pink kimono pushed into the store. Saiga trailed behind, trying to tell her they were closed. "Oh, I was afraid I'd _missed_ you! Kazahaya!" She fell into Kazahaya's astonished arms.

"_Kei!?_ What, why, _how_…." Kazahaya stammered.

Kei said softly, "Happy-our-birthday."

"Pray introduce, Kudo-kun?" Kakei prodded.

"Ah, ah," Kazahaya stammered.

"I'm Kudo Kei, Kazahaya's elder twin sister," she explained, bowing shyly. "Kazahaya left _without_ me…," her voice caught. She turned back to her twin and caught his face in her hands."We belong together, forever." She kissed Kazahaya's mouth. "Mm, you taste like _pear_."

-oOo-

No doubt his date believed he was showing off how cool he was to Rikuo. The condo, "mansion" in Japanese English, was huge, but trashed. Rikuo had accepted a beer for camouflage, knowing how rightfully nervous such partygoers were about people who weren't partaking. He held up a piece of wall not far from the small lake spreading around the beer keg in the kitchen. His date had disappeared upstairs with another guy for the second time. A girl twirled past him, giggling, voice way too high, tattoo on her breast of a mouth with tongue licking lips, a guy following her.

_Tsukiko._ He pretended to take a sip from the beer, to stave off further offers of stronger stuff. A real sip would have gagged him. _Too many parties like this one… Tsukiko, spinning like a whirling dervish, sky high. She stopped twirling and pointed at some "random" guy, but always a "random" choice of someone who was carrying plenty of whatever drug she wanted next, needed next. Off to a bedroom, a corner, an alley, anywhere. She didn't care what guy. She enjoyed the sex. She _craved_ the drugs. Always._

_How many of these parties did I go to with her? Why? To protect her from herself? I would have if she'd let me. Why wouldn't you let me, Tsukiko? Are you at one of these parties now, somewhere in this city of 25 millions? Stoned out of your mind, spreading your legs on a soiled communal bed, for anyone with the drugs?_

His left hand itched viciously. A strange red inverted V rash was drawn on the palm. _Some kind of contact dermatitis – wonder what I touched? I was fine when I left the drug store. _He searched his photographic memory for anything that could have possibly left two fine stripes of allergic reaction between there and here. _Nothing…._

But the effort brought back the memory of the girl in kimono, in full photographic recall. _No, _she _wouldn't have been at a party like this. Maybe school…where else could it have been? _Reviewing the memory in his mind, though, he remembered chains around her neck, chains on her wrists, jeweled rings on her fingers. Yet absolutely correct kimono and tabi, to every last intricate knot.

He frowned, and frowned harder as he pushed off a staggering girl who'd caromed into him. Her "date" of the moment grabbed and half dragged her up the stairs.

_A girl doesn't wear jewelry like that with a kimono, does she? So proper, so elegant, but not with that jewelry. Right? Or…oh, how the hell would I know. Girls don't in historical dramas. More like dangly stick-pins in weird waxed hair-do's, isn't it? _He'd bet Tsukiko hadn't even known how to tie on a kimono. Who would have taught her? They didn't teach such things in prestigious schools or drug-drenched parties. _Silence and loathing were all we learned at home._

The V on his hand itched maddeningly, and finally it hit him. _Kazahaya! In a kimono, he'd look just like… Does he even have a sister?_

He looked up and around him in panic. If the kimono clad girl were Kazahaya's sister…. Rikuo didn't know what Kazahaya had run away from. Just that it was bad enough that freezing and starving on the street was better. Just that Kazahaya wouldn't say a word about it, never contacted his family. Just that Kazahaya's family hadn't given him even the most basic education. And damn it, he had no idea where they'd gone to eat in Roppongi. If he skipped out now and went back to the apartment, he'd just find it empty.

_Why the hell didn't I go for shabu-shabu and birthday cake? Yeah, it's _nice_ and I'm not. But I don't belong here either. I'm one of _them._Tsukiko and I both were. We were just here...for her drugs. Because she wanted to escape being our kind. Please let it be that she didn't escape to the grave… _

He took out his cell phone and groaned. He'd set it to go to voicemail, expecting nasty calls or text messages from Kakei. True, enough, first up was Kakei.

**Kakei, 7:54: **** Will talk tomorrow! **

**Saiga, 7:57: Meet shabu? Attached.**

**Saiga, 8:11: Call NOW. Trouble.**

Saiga included directions to the restaurant in Roppongi. It was 9:30 - by now they were probably eating. Rikuo was maybe 45 minutes from Roppongi, and further from home. He tried Kazakaya's number, and went straight to voicemail. Same with Kakei's, no surprise there - Kakei despised people who answered cell phones in restaurants. Saiga…might have left his on, just in case. Saiga's phone rang once, twice, three times…

"It's Saiga. Where are you?"

"Private party, out past Shinjuku. Sorry, just checked messages now. Saiga-san, this may sound stupid, but…did a girl in kimono come into the shop right after I left?"

A long pause, then in an odd voice, "Yes. The four of us are just finishing dinner. Can't talk much now."

"Is she…Kazahaya's sister?"

"Yes."

"…Is that OK?"

"Maybe not."

"Need me?"

"As soon as possible."

"Meet you back at my apartment? Or going somewhere else?"

"No, we're headed to a friend's place. It's his birthday."

"I'll be there soon. You'll get there first."

"Seeya then." Saiga switched off.

Rikuo stared at the cell phone a moment, thinking._ Saiga wasn't letting the others know who he was talking to. But, Kakei would have read his cell phone screen when he answered. So, he wasn't telling _Kazahaya._ "The four of us…" Oh. He wasn't telling Kazahaya or the_ sister_, who's with them. It's "maybe not" OK? Kakei can read the future, and Saiga's the ultimate voyeur of the present. Shouldn't be any "maybe" about it. No…I'm probably reading too much into this._

He looked around for his date, with good intentions of spending a little sweaty quality time saying good-night – Kazahaya _was_ with Kakei and Saiga, after all. Another 15-30 minutes couldn't hurt. He finally caught the guy's eye at the far end of the living room, one hand cupping a breast of a girl on one side, and the other clutching a boy's chest, both companions topless except for spiked leather chained collars, both appearing well under 18. Rikuo's date waved and started toward Rikuo, staggering half-suspended from the matched pair of zombie-eyed half-naked children.

_Did we look like that? _In revulsion, Rikuo shattered two whiskey glasses and an iPod in the disgusting threesome's path with his talent. In the ensuing confusion, he beat it out of there. _No need to salvage_ _that relationship…. _

_ You know, truth is, I like shabu-shabu and cheesecake. With my_ own_ kind. Yeah, I went to hell and back for Tsukiko, but not to take up residence… Kazahaya, please be OK._

-oOo-

_Please review?_


	3. The Chains That Bind

**Legal Drug : The Chains That Bind – Chapter 3**

Summary: Third chapter of the _Chains That Bind_ story arc.

_Update: just fidgeted with typos & minor wording. _

**Chapter 3 – The Chains that Bind**

Rikuo opened their apartment door to the back of the beautiful girl he'd seen before. "I'm home," he called.

Startled, she spun around and bowed deeply and gracefully. "Welcome home," she murmured. "You must be Himura-san. I'm called Kudo Kei – Kudo Kazahaya's elder twin sister. I'm honored to meet you."

"Welcome home!" called Kazahaya, returning from the kitchen with a Pocari Sweat bottle serving as a vase for pink peonies. "Rikuo! My elder twin sister Kei came for our birthday!" His eyes were huge and bright with joy, his face flushed, his upset seemingly forgotten over Rikuo ducking out on his birthday dinner.

"Yes, so I've just heard. Pleased to meet you." Rikuo bowed stiffly in return. He removed and placed his shoes, studying Kei. Her fine silk kimono was lush with pink peonies on a yellow background. The resemblance to Kazahaya was striking, though oddly reminding Rikuo more of December's starving Kazahaya than of August's rambunctious Kazahaya. _She must be broiling in those layers of silk,_ he thought. _Though… she doesn't seem to be. _Of the girlish jewelry that clashed with her kimono, a heart locket on a fine gold chain and a matching gold charm bracelet had migrated to Kazahaya's neck and wrist. Rikuo frowned.

Kazahaya gestured them all into the living room in front of his treasured box fan, protecting the peonies from the gale by perching them on top.

"They're so beautiful, brother," said Kei. "Brother has always taken such good care of me," she added to Rikuo, timidly attempting conversation.

"Your visit is such a lovely surprise, isn't it?" Rikuo raised an eyebrow at Kazahaya.

Kazahaya looked puzzled a moment, but his brow cleared as Kei softly said, "Oh, Kazahaya invited me. He's always been so forgetful…" Her twin nodded vaguely, eyes glassy. _Drunk,_ concluded Rikuo.

"That must have been frustrating in school, Kazahaya?" fished Rikuo.

"School is so hard on those who don't fit in," answered Kei, after a blank pause. Her voice was sad, hypnotic, so very soft. "Our guardian took us out of school and hired us tutors instead."

"And are you also…you didn't fit in?" asked Rikuo.

"We are twins," she replied, without really answering.

A brief banging on the door in lieu of good manners interrupted. Kakei and Saiga entered bearing cheesecake. Apparently they'd stopped at their apartment on the way. "Hello, hello!" boomed Saiga.

"Ah, let me fetch plates," said Rikuo. Kakei followed him into the kitchen. "Well this is interesting," he said neutrally while collecting utensils. "Why is she here?"

"Why weren't _you?_" countered Kakei pointedly.

"…It was a mistake, OK? I'm here now. And I'm worried about Kudo."

Kakei shot him a this-isn't-over glare, but conceded the change of subject. "What have you learned?"

Rikuo conveyed the infobyte about home schooling by order of their guardian. "And over dinner?"

"Less than that. They're devoted. The girl loves flowers. As you see. They seem to have been alone together most of their lives…. She does most of the talking."

"Yeah, I caught all that. How much did Kazahaya have to drink?"

"Just green tea." Kakei took the plates and things into the main room, leaving Rikuo to ask an empty room, "Then why…?"

Saiga lit a candle on the cake, the box fan temporarily muzzled. The twins knelt to blow it out together, hands clasped on either side of the cake. "I wish that we will always be together," breathed Kei. "Always," echoed Kazahaya, eyes shining too brightly. And they blew the candle out.

Saiga's unflappable smile never wavered. Kakei's smirk suggested the twins would look incestuous if the pair were slightly less clueless. Only Rikuo winced. _That's just so wrong._ His eyes narrowed, caught on the girlish charms dancing on Kazahaya's wrist as they sliced the cake, both with a hand on the knife, like bride and groom cutting a wedding cake. _That's so… not Kazahaya…_

"Where's our gift?" he blurted to Kakei.

"Must have left it in the apartment. Sorry, Kudo-kun, I'll have to give you your other present tomorrow."

"Oh, that's OK!" Kazahaya beamed. "I'm just so _happy_! I've gotten so _much_ this birthday! Thank you! But I'm really looking forward to it tomorrow!"

Saiga did a good job on the cake. Kei didn't eat any, but she dotingly hand-fed Kazahaya. The two were so quiet and engrossed in each other, that it was easy to see how Kakei and Saiga had learned nothing over dinner. They were blissful. Rikuo was unnerved. And soon the little party broke up.

Out on the landing, Saiga closed the door on the mutual assurances that they'd all see each other in the morning. He grabbed Kakei's breast, and said, "I don't get it." Kakei swatted his hand and he grabbed the other breast, this time catching the one with the jewelry giftbox in the breast pocket. "Why not?"

"…I'm not sure," answered Kakei. "They're so happy together. Himura… Maybe Kudo-kun leaves with Kei, instead of staying here with Himura. But maybe… that's good."

"You're being too hard on Himura."

"So _explain_ it to me," Kakei hissed.

"Not sure I can. That kind of thing… was what he used to do before. What if you're falling in love with someone who can't love you back? When there's no right answer, you keep trying wrong ones. Right?"

"Some are more _wrong_ than others."

"Nevertheless."

Kakei considered that on their silent way back to their apartment. Finally inside, he said, "I'll grant you understand Himura-kun better. I'll grant Himura may care about Kudo, in some inept sort of way. But Kudo-kun loves his sister, and she loves him."

"That begs the question of why he ran away to starve and freeze on the street."

"Himura and Kudo bicker constantly."

"That begs the question of why Kudo's suddenly turned into an obedient pet."

"You don't trust the sister," Kakei observed.

"Neither does Himura. Nor do we know why she's here. Or… how."

"Kudo invited her," said Kakei, surprised.

"No. He didn't," said Saiga. "That much I'm sure of."

"Oh… Then… maybe we do have to trust him to Himura."

"That's what I'm saying."

---

Rikuo glared at Kei in the store the next day, each and every time he passed by her. _She_ had no trouble reading. She passed the time on a slim book of Meiji era poetry that was way over Rikuo's head._ She_ didn't look wilted by sleeping in the breathless humidity. Though it had been Rikuo's choice to flee to his bedroom and leave the fan to the twins. _She_ looked bright and well, stronger than she had the night before. Though that was probably a trick of the light. Except, Kazahaya looked pale and drained. Still with that glassy-eyed mindless happiness, but … drained. Though he seemed to be eating more than usual. Funny, come to think of it, he couldn't recall _her_ eating at all, though probably she just ate when Rikuo wasn't looking.

Somewhere in the midst of sweeping spilled mints out from under an aisle's shelves, kneeling on the floor, something finally clicked with Rikuo. _He's not happy, he's _entranced_! That jewelry…_ His eyes widened as the scope of that sunk in. _What if he's been entranced … like this … all his life? What if…_

He looked up the aisle to the cash register. Kazahaya sat smiling vacantly at nothing. His kanji primer was forgotten on its shelf. He responded well enough, if absent-mindedly, when a customer came to the cash register, or one of the others asked him to do something. But between promptings he drifted to a stop. Kei sat a few feet from him, reading.

Rikuo found Kakei, checking inventory and filling out order forms in another aisle, and urgently asked him back to the office to talk. Saiga was already there in his usual station on the couch.

"We need, _I _need, to give that ring-and-chains thing to Kudo," he began.

"Well…yes," said Kakei. "But…suppose you tell us your reasoning?"

"I think you know more than I do," accused Rikuo. "Or why did I get that ring?"

Saiga chalked up a point in mid-air. "Allow me, Kakei," he cut in. "Himura-kun, Kakei-san can't _see_ this week, everything around Kudo is a complete white out. After the white out, with the ring, he's still here, bound to you somehow. In every other future, he's gone, completely."

Rikuo recoiled. "Tsukiko…"

"That's why I didn't want to tell you," said Kakei. "Like Tsukiko. Precisely."

"You had some insight about Kudo-kun, Himura-kun?" reminded Saiga.

"He wasn't there…" Rikuo began, recalling a gentle kiss dripping with pear juice. "He isn't here. That's why you can't _see_ him."

"Explain."

"When he connects, the way he does, he _is_ what he's experiencing, not the person experiencing it. And when the experience is over, he passes out, and then doesn't remember it. So while he's connected, entranced, he's … gone. School, stories, learning -- he doesn't remember anything. He's like a little kid who just started growing up these past few months, with us. Because he's never been _here_ long enough before. He's been in thrall to _her._" He looked at Kakei imploringly. "Is this even possible? Am I making any sense at all?"

"Are you sure, Himura-kun? You've seen this with Kudo-kun?" Saiga asked.

"Yes. Every time I've… He gets enthralled to me sometimes. And afterwards, he remembers nothing. When I bring it up, he gets mad at me for… making stuff up."

Kakei asked icily, "If so, why is he better off enthralled to you?"

"…Because… I can set him free afterwards so we can ask him? What he wants?"

"Good answer," said Saiga emphatically. "Kakei? Shall I take the register and send Kudo back?"

"Yes…" said Kakei slowly. "Alright, Saiga. And keep Kei up front."

Kazahaya drifted to the back office, a little reluctant and glancing back over his shoulder toward Kei, but he was biddable enough.

As he closed the door, Kakei soothed, "I didn't want to give this to you last night, because it's a bit of special _our _type of thing. I'd rather not discuss it with Kei, alright?" He handed Kazahaya the jewelry gift box.

"Alright," Kazahaya acquiesced. He unwrapped the box a bit mechanically. He really did seem fatigued. "Ah… thank you. What is it?"

"Here, let me help you with that," said Rikuo, taking over. "I'll have to take this off, I'm afraid – the ring goes on your left hand." He unfastened the delicate girl's charm bracelet and set it aside, masking his distaste.

Kazahaya watched passively as Rikuo knelt on the floor before him and took his hand. Rikuo slid the ring onto his left middle finger, arranged the shorter chains in their V's across palm and back of hand, and fastened the bracelet. He draped the remaining long chain up over his thumb and fastened it to the bracelet, end dangling down his wrist. _He's calm and I'm sweating,_ thought Rikuo. _Damn, this thing is sexy… putting it on him is sexy…_ He finally dared look up into Kazahaya's eyes.

_Empty. Still empty._ Rikuo swallowed hard. _The other chain… the locket around his neck. Maybe…_ He reached with his mind and broke the delicate gold locket chain, trashing a link about a third away around. _That should take a while to fix… _"Ack, Kazahaya, I'm so sorry – I must have broken the necklace," he said, pulling the broken necklace free and putting it with the charm bracelet.

Kazahaya blinked and gazed at the gold chains on the desk, puzzled._ Something… Maybe… a little more? _Rikuo slipped his right hand, palm to palm with Kazahaya's left, inside the long thumb chain. Kazahaya's eyes jumped directly to Rikuo's eyes, suddenly alert. Rikuo's breath caught, feeling the chemistry. _Damn, this feels good! _

Kakei cleared his throat to bring him back to business. "Kazahaya…?" Rikuo prompted. But his alertness was turning to a fixed stare.

Rikuo glanced toward Kakei for inspiration. Kakei shrugged and mimed pulling his hand out of the ring chains. Rikuo sadly complied.

"My sister had a locket like that." Kazahaya's voice made Rikuo jump. "What are you _doing_?" Kazahaya snatched his hand away from Rikuo and glowered at him. "Pervert."

"Tell us about Kei," Kakei prompted Kazahaya. "Your sister."

Kazahaya looked at him in surprise. "Kei? I'd… rather not," he said sadly.

"I'm afraid I have to insist, since she's sitting at my cash register," Kakei said.

"_Huh?_ Kei died when we were thirteen."

"Tell me about that," encouraged Kakei, very softly.

"Kei was my elder twin. You knew that? How…? Well… She was sickly, for years. She had a weak heart. I took care of her as best I could. We were always together. We promised we'd always be together. We were both… strange… _you_ know. And our parents died… school didn't work out… we were alone together most of the time. She was the only person in the world to me, you know? But…" Kazahaya frowned, distracted by a thought. "Five years? How could that be…"

He was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Kei entered shyly. "Excuse me. Kazahaya, is everything alright?" Through the door, Rikuo could see Saiga distracted by a clutch of elderly ladies.

"Kei!" replied Kazahaya happily. "Yes, everything's fine! Isn't my new bracelet pretty?"


	4. O-Bon

**Legal Drug : The Chains That Bind – Chapter 4**

Summary: Kazahaya's past and present collide for his 18th birthday, as dangers unfold that even Kakei and Saga can't see. Only Rikuo can save Kazahaya from a family reunion, and finally get intimate with Kazahaya in the bargain - more intimate than Rikuo had bargained for. First chapter of the _Chains That Bind_ story arc.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to _Legal Drug_, of course. This was my first attempt at a fanfic.

**Chapter 4 – O-Bon**

_Fireworks spread like willow trees across the sky, reflecting across a broad river, throngs of happy faces gazing up, dressed in particolored yukata on the crowded banks._

_An old woman guides a small boy to launch a floating paper lantern, to join a glowing fleet drifting slowly down a narrow dark river to the sea._

_A lone middle-aged salaryman in hapi coat, bandana tied at his brow, dances lost in somber reflection, around a pole set in a traffic circle amidst the vast city._

_An upside-down desk calendar with male anatomical doodles in the margins – Aug 12 get item, Aug 13 o-bon begins, Aug 14 Kudo's birthday, Aug 16 o-bon ends. Beside the calendar lies a little clump of fine gold chains mixed with girlish charms – a heart locket, a puppy, a kitten, x's for kisses._

In defiant defeat, Rikuo swept Kei's golden trinkets into his hand and thrust them deep into his pocket.

"That wasn't entirely successful," observed Kakei, when Kazahaya and Kei had retreated out of earshot toward the front of the store.

Rikuo bit back an angry retort, substituting, "I should get back to work."

"_Yes._ But save some energy for Bon dancing this evening. This outing is _not _optional, Himura-kun. Not that last night's was…"

"You have a plan," cut in Rikuo. "Really?"

"Well… an idea, at least. But it's a few hours yet until closing time, perhaps it will mature into an full-grown plan by then. Send Saiga back to me if the obatarians are done with him? And… just let Kudo-kun and Kudo-san enjoy each other for now in peace, hmm?"

-oOo-

When quitting time eventually rolled around, and the register was closed out and the fence locked across the front windows, Saiga brought out a surprisingly thorough box of let's-do-Bon paraphernalia.

"Tonight, let's do o-Bon," he proclaimed bracingly.

"o-Bon?" parroted Kazahaya dispiritedly. "I…"

"It'll be_ fun,_" Kakei insisted, putting his arms around Kazahaya and Kei's waists. "You two can dance with your parents, hmm? Yours as well, Himura. It'll be_ fun,_ won't it?"

"Absolutely," replied Rikuo, bemusedly accepting the hapi coat and bandana quartermaster Saiga issued him from the box. The hapi coat had large blue and green fish appliqued at the hem, and _Takanawa Sushi_ blazoned across back and breast. The headband was a rising sun on white, advertising some cram school in Shibaura. The brown and white striped belt probably hailed from a hotel. "My own yukata belt would go better," he observed.

"_Yes!_ But I'm short on belts, so you'll loan your blue one to Kudo-kun, won't you? We want him to look nice for his sister, don't we?" Saiga beamed.

"_Absolutely,_" said Kakei, jabbing a pen into Rikuo's kidney to underscore the point.

"Ah, sure," winced Rikuo, and handed over a similar but smaller outfit, sans belt, to Kazahaya.

"Ooh, that's _pretty!_" breathed Kei, as Saiga gallantly presented her a girl's proper summer festival yukata. Hers was bright pink with mingled white cranes and camellias on vining foliage. _The dead girl gets a real outfit with matching belt_, observed a cranky Rikuo. He found it difficult not to shrink away from the pretty living breathing dead girl beside him. "Isn't this pretty, Kazahaya? This _will_ be fun!" she said, holding her brother's arm and showing off her outfit.

"Ah… it'll look beautiful on you, Kei. I'm kind of tired, though…" Kazahaya attempted.

"Nonsense, it'll be _fun!_" insisted Saiga, issuing another brownish hapi kit to Kakei. Kakei's outfit matched, courtesy of Okubo Janitorial Services, once the somewhat stained uniform of a custodian named Honda. Kakei looked singularly unappreciative. "We _all_ have to get into the spirit, after all," Saiga said, putting an arm around Kakei, and booming in his ear. "It'll be _fun!_ So! Everybody get changed and we'll meet out front in 15 minutes!"

-oOo-

The local Bon dance was a modest affair, centered on a tiny park that amounted to little more than a traffic circle with the traffic diverted. But the party was well attended by people of modest means from the neighborhood. Street sellers were on hand to supply those less prepared than Saiga, purveying paper lanterns, choice vegetables and fruits, incense sticks, candles, origami papers, wooden boats, disposable flash cameras… Having taken turns carrying the box, Rikuo knew Saiga had it all covered.

They stopped at the concrete steps in front of a bank, letting Kei and Kazahaya erect four paper lanterns with candles. With the same crafty flair Saiga applied to sewing yukata and whipping up cheesecake, he'd turned a fine hand with brush and ink to titling the four little lanterns: Kakei, Saiga, Himura, Kudo. He'd even painted mon devices on them. Rikuo hadn't a clue what the Himura crest was supposed to look like, but it was a nice touch, and perhaps it was the thought that counted. The lanterns summoning their ancestors looked a bit lonely out there on the public street, since most welcomed their ancestors to their homes. Saiga, for one, added a nice eggplant and strawberries as gifts, and looked back a bit apologetically as they moved on.

Saiga deposited his box near a vendor's stall, trusting to the convened ancestors to discourage people from filching anything, and they headed for the Bon dance circle. Kei was actually quite eager, like any sheltered girl getting the rare chance to dress up and dream and go out to a dance. She dragged her tired escort brother ahead of them into the crowded circle. Kazahaya was being a good sport about it - obedient. And dressed well enough to go with Kei's lovely summerwear, with shorts underneath his hapi coat, bound with Rikuo's belt. The appliqued sushi bar fish managed to look festive.

"You still have Kei's jewelry, don't you?" Kakei asked, when the twins were a ways ahead.

Rikuo still wore his work jeans under his fishy hapi coat. He patted his pocket. "Yes, right here. What's the plan?"

"For the moment… we dance," Kakei said sourly. Not a man for dancing, one felt, nor overly eager to commune with dead relatives.

"Just do what everyone else is doing," said Saiga bracingly, smiling behind dark sunglasses in the dark street. "That's what I do - fake it."

_Not really what I was asking,_ thought Rikuo wryly. But the walk had landed him at the edge of the bon dance circle. He stopped abruptly, while Kakei and Saiga waded into the current of the dance. _Mmm, guess I'm not much of a man for dancing with dead relatives, either. Mother? Father? Hopefully… not Tsukiko… _The thought that they might actually _be_ here, or that his actions might _summon_ them here, suddenly spooked him completely. Frozen to the spot, he watched the others dance.

Saiga danced seriously, habitual smile gone for once, interacting with no one living, just the spirits only he could see behind his dark glasses. Kakei, pretty much abandoned, danced without spirit, more or less carried along as the circle went round.

Kei and Kazahaya, nicely matched, danced delicately, slowly, both entranced. They held hands like small children clinging together to venture out into the big world, trusting they'd be OK if only they didn't let go of each other. Rikuo's throat constricted. If Kei was dead and gone, Kazahaya really was alone facing the big world, no more prepared than a small child.

Thinking this, he wondered if there were anything inside the heart locket, so pulled it out to look. Indeed, inside there was a picture, and a tiny braid, maybe 10 hairs to a strand, of fine light-colored child's hair - perhaps the hair of two light-haired children, woven together. Careful not to drop the hair, he squinted and turned the locket around to catch the street lights, in order to see the tiny picture, barely a centimeter tall, glazed into the curved back of the heart. The twins were probably seven years old, in their school uniforms, happy and healthy and grinning, snuggled each on the lap of the smiling opposite-sex parent._ These parents loved their strange offspring, with their strange gifts._

_Kudo-san-tachi, are you here?_ he addressed the parents in the picture. He prayed to a friend's dead parents, for the moment forgetful of his fear of addressing his own. _Your son is alone now… but he has us. He has me. Please, I don't understannd why your daughter won't let him go… or maybe why your son won't let her go… Please, can you come and guide your daughter away? She shouldn't be here anymore. And I'll hold Kazahaya's hand…_

Realizing with a jolt what he was saying in his head, he replaced the little braid and snapped the locket shut, shoving it back into his pocket. _Kudo-san-tachi… please forgive me. I did mean it… I just feel like an _ _idiot for meaning it. You didn't have a son my age, but… I hope you understand. Your grown son would feel the same, believe me. Like an idiot… _With that, his own mercifully forgotten family returned to mind, and the jagged clanging feelings catapulted him into the dance himself.

Rikuo was soon as immersed in the dance as Kei or Kazahaya or Saiga. After a few turns, he noticed Kakei too had eventually engaged in some inner dialogue. At first, each step of the dance was painful, a remembered hurt reviewed, a cold rebuff, a cruel word, a betrayal, a disappointment, an abandonment of a thousand days. But each lingering resentment flew up into the sultry August dark as he lifted a foot, old stored anger and hurt melting into the humid air. At some point, after he knew not how long, he simply found himself at the edge of the circle again, finished and calm. His parents were… wherever… and he was here, with friends. He was OK with that, and felt perhaps they were OK with that too.

Looking around, he realized the others had finished before him. They were companionably eating yakitori and fruit with their ancestors back at the lanterns.

Sheepishly rejoining them, he sat on the step below the Himura lantern with its unfamiliar crest. "Sorry, got kinda caught up. Never done that before. That's… kind of amazing."

"I was surprised, too," murmured Kakei, idly tracing a fingernail around the edge of his paper lantern.

"I do it every year," said Saiga. "Feel completely refreshed afterwards."

Rikuo chuckled. "Saiga-san, I've known you for years, and I don't believe I'll ever know you at all."

Saiga grinned. "Bought you yakitori and cold tea." He handed Rikuo chicken on a stick and a green can.

The twins were quiet. Kazahaya was clearly beat. Kei sat a step above him, next to their lantern, so Kazahaya could rest his head on her knees, eyes closed. She played tenderly with his hair, and occasionally stroked his hot face with a cool tea can.

Given his silent dialogue during the dance, begrudging friendly conversation with a dead girl, suddenly struck Rikuo as rather petty. "Is Kazahaya asleep, Kudo-san?" he asked Kei kindly. She waggled a hand _so-so_. "I spoke to your parents out there, too."

"Really?" she asked. "Did they say anything?"

"No. Well, not directly." Rikuo noticed that Kakei's attention was riveted on him, eyes narrowed. Saiga was folding an origami doll with pink patterned yukata, but no doubt was also listening. "While you were dancing with Kazahaya… I was thinking how much you two loved and needed each other. Clung to each other. Being… different… and with your parents gone… with a guardian who hid you away… It must be hard to let go."

"I promised I wouldn't, not ever," she whispered. "He needs me."

"He has us now, though," said Kakei softly. "We'll take good care of him, help him grow up."

"That's the problem, isn't it," Kei said, her voice catching. "It's not just me who can't move on, is it… Even before I… died… he held on to me to give me strength. And afterwards… It takes too much out of him, doesn't it."

"Is that why he left?" asked Kakei. "He realized he had to leave you to live?"

"Yes, I think so…" The tears began to flow. "You have to understand. I didn't want to hurt him. He didn't want to be alone. I _couldn't _ leave him all alone. I _promised_," she sobbed.

Kazahaya stirred. "What's wrong, Kei?"

"I think I need to go now. Your friends are going to help me go now. Dear brother."

Kazahaya grabbed her hand. "Kei!" he cried in anguish.

"It's alright, Kudo-kun," said Kakei, stroking his back. "You'll see."

"Ah, the doll is finished," said Saiga. "Do you like it, Kudo-san?"

Kei wiped her tears and took the paper doll. She smiled at him best she could. "Thank you. Yes, it's lovely. But I… don't know what to do."

"It's alright," soothed Kakei. "Let's pack our lanterns and take them to the river."

They packed everything up and walked a few blocks to a canal-like bit of river, like a hundred others running dark and silent between concrete banks through the city. The twins were entwined in each other's arms, but Kazahaya was so tired that Rikuo had to help Kei half-carry him along. At the river's embankment, Saiga and Rikuo handed the twins over the concrete ballustrade, and all five perched on the narrow bit of vertical wall above the water.

Kakei and Rikuo and Saiga prepared their boats first, gradually working out the knack of getting candle and lantern and boat all lowered to the water and floating safely out to sea. Kakei's boat foundered altogether. Rikuo's was still afloat for the little distance they could see it, but the candle drowned. By the third try, Saiga's boat looked well on its way, glowing softly around the bend.

"Well, I think we've got the hang of this," said Saiga. "Shall I put the doll in for you?" he asked Kei kindly. Kei handed over the doll, trying to be brave.

"The locket and charms you gave your brother, Kudo-san. Shall we put them in as well?" Kakei asked.

She started to nod, but then gripped Kazahaya's hand tightly and sobbed in anguish. "Do you have any other pictures, Kazahaya?" But Kazahaya didn't answer. He held tightly to her hand in return, but seemed too far gone to speak.

"I'll keep just the locket for him, then," said Rikuo, "but put the rest in, including the braid of hair. I'll show him the locket sometimes, but keep him safe from it. I won't let him touch it. Is that OK, Kudo-san?" She nodded gratefully, and Rikuo did as he'd suggested. Kakei actually ended up with custody of the locket, though, as he tried to see the picture but was unsuccessful in the dark canal. He wanted to see it later, but promised to return it into Rikuo's keeping.

The doll at the helm, candle lit, lantern attached, precious cargo aboard, the boat was ready to launch. "When you're ready," said Kakei softly.

Kei turned to say good-bye to Kazahaya, but his eyes kept drifting closed, and he couldn't respond. So she embraced him and kissed him gently. Then she handed his ring and chained hand to Rikuo. "Take care of him, please, Himura-san?"

"Absolutely," promised Rikuo. He slipped his hand inside the ring chains to _hold_ Kazahaya. He put his other arm around Kazahaya and held him across the stomach, tucking his fingers under the belt he'd loaned him. "I'm glad to have met you, Kudo-san. Good-bye."

"I'm glad to have met you all. Thank you, so much. I'm glad little brother isn't alone anymore."

Saiga nodded, and carefully lowered the little ship to the dark water. As he loosed the ship, Kei faded and shrunk and merged with the paper doll.

"I love you, little brother, and set you free. Please be well," came whispered back across the water. They watched until the lantern bobbed beyond the bend, sailing bravely toward the wide black Pacific.

Eventually Kakei asked, "Any chance of rousing Kudo-kun?"

"Dead to the world," said Rikuo. "It's OK. I'm used to carrying him home."

"He never, _ever_, touches this locket. Agreed?"

"Agreed," said Rikuo.

"Definitely," said Saiga.

And they carried Kazahaya and their Bon-in-a-box home, each at peace with his ghosts for the night.

-oOo-

_o-bon – _Aug. 13-16 Buddhist festival to pray for the repose of one's ancestors. Japanese ancestors' spirits come back to be reunited with their family during o-bon. Street dances (bon odori) are one of the observances.

_hapi coat_ – a short cotton working kimono, reaching the bottom of the torso. Sushi chefs wear them. Common at summer festivals, because a long yukata or kimono makes poor activewear. Underneath men may have shorts or pants or an old-fashioned loincloth. The sweat bandana is also an I'm-working-hard type of thing.

_obatarians_ – gaggles of embarrassing old ladies.

_Please review?_


	5. Epilogue

**Legal Drug : The Chains That Bind – Chapter 5**

Summary: Fifth chapter of the _Chains That Bind_ story arc. Denouement.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to _Legal Drug_, of course.

**Chapter 5 – Epilogue**

On the last day of o-Bon, lying stretched in front of the box fan, where he'd gently lay down with the exhausted bereaved Kazahaya the night before, Rikuo was tenderly roused from sleep by a sharp elbow jab to the eye socket.

_"OW!"_

"Uh, sorry," said Kazahaya. "How do you get this thing off?"

Rikuo sat up groggily next to Kazahaya, rubbing his offended eye. Both boys were naked from the waist up, torsos rising from puddles of appliqued sushi fish, yukata belts dangling from hips and the hapi coats that had sloughed off overnight. Kazahaya's elbow slinging contortions were apparently directed at the ring-and-chains jewelry on his left hand.

"You're left-handed. Let me do it," said Rikuo without thinking.

Kazahaya yanked his left hand away from Rikuo's grasp. "I don't want it off. I just want to know how it comes off. What makes you say I'm left-handed, anyway?"

_Um. What _does _make me think he's left-handed?_ Rikuo thought muzzily. _He does write with his right hand. That's why his handwriting is so lousy…_ His left hand twitched unconsciously into writing position. It _felt_ right, though he wasn't a leftie himself. A huge yawn broke into his chain of thought. Blinking, he remembered why those chains really had to come off. And that Kazahaya probably remembered… nothing. His heart sank, looking at the more delicate boy beside him. _He has to lose his sister all over again. A third time… a fourth…_

"Kazahaya… I have to tell you what happened the past few days, don't I."

Kazahaya looked at him blankly. He was uncharacteristically silent as Rikuo told his story, keeping it brief and sketchy – just a skeleton of facts about events, skipping lightly as possible past his beloved lost sister. A few tears rolled down Kazahaya's cheeks, but he sat quietly, looking down at his chains in faint puzzlement, as Rikuo continued.

Rikuo delved into more detail about the reasoning, the why's of it all. That, Kazahaya needed to know. Each of them with their rare and idiosyncratic talents – they needed to know every shred, every possible clue and key to unlock their own selves. For there were no tour guides, only each other to help along the way, to discover the uncharted territory of their own strange abilities.

After he finished, after a few minutes of silence, Rikuo ventured, "So. Do you want me to help you take that off now?"

"No," said Kazahaya. "You're wrong about one thing. I remember the pear now."

"The pear?" Rikuo replied blankly.

"It's… hard to explain. They're like different colors…"

"Different colored pears?"

"_Argh!_ Forget the pear." Kazahaya shifted one thigh over Rikuo's thigh to pin it and grabbed his right hand.

"_You _said remember the pear -- What are you are _doing?"_

"_This!"_ Kazahaya pushed Rikuo's right hand inside the chains of the ring jewelry, palm to palm, finger to finger with Kazahaya's left hand.

"Don't –" Rikuo began, but it was already done. Kazahaya's large brown eyes were staring into his, absolutely rapt. Rikuo couldn't help but stare back. _How often do we look into each other's eyes like this? Oy, there's a good reason I don't look him in the eye like this! His eyes are so beautiful, so huge and clear and deep and innocent. Pinned by his thigh like this, his groin inches from mine._ Rikuo's heart pounded. _I could pull him two inches closer. Skin to skin, from crotch to chest. He wouldn't even know. _

_He wouldn't even know._ That thought finally galvanized Rikuo into action. He ripped his hand out from the chains joining him to Kazahaya and pushed him away, so both boys ended up thighs still entwined, feet pinned under, leaning back on their elbows. Both gasping.

"What did you do _that_ for?" complained Kazahaya.

Rikuo gruffly pulled himself up to sit crosslegged, extracting his leg from Kazahaya's. "Kazahaya! Don't you get it? Those chains enthrall you to me, just like the others enthralled you to Kei. You get… _stuck_ to things."

As Rikuo spoke, Kazahaya fished a pear out of the o-Bon box lying beside them, discarded by Kakei when Saiga helped Rikuo carry Kazahaya up to the top floor apartment. Were his heart pounding a little less, his emotions less disarrayed, Rikuo might have noticed that Kazahaya knew exactly what the box was. And that it contained, among other things, pears. The strawberries had all been consumed with dead relatives, but there were a couple pears left. Rikuo's brief history hadn't included an inventory of the Bon-in-a-box.

"That's not quite –" Kazahaya tried to cut in.

"We need to keep the ring chains. It's great that we can unstick you from things," Rikuo continued, ignoring him, head hung in hands, speaking in emotional pain. "But that's all they're for. I can't chain you to me –"

Kazahaya bit vehemently into his pear, and said with mouth full, "But Rikuo, I _do_ remember."

Rikuo finally looked up in irritation at him speaking with his mouth full. "What?"

Kazahaya swallowed, and planted a great kiss on Rikuo's mouth, dripping with pear juice. "_I REMEMBER THE GODDAMN PEAR!_ And --"

Rikuo, just then, didn't give a damn what Kazahaya was about to say, nor consciously register what he'd already said. He grabbed the boy back to him, dragging both up on their knees, and hugged him tight, belly to belly, chest to chest, mouth to mouth. He plunged his tongue deep into the the pear juice sweetness, seeking Kazahaya's tongue. Kazahaya startled at first, then reached his arms up around Rikuo's neck, pressing his torso harder against him, his mouth harder against his.

Rikuo used a knee to pull a knee out from under Kazahaya and lay him back. In the break for air, he untangled the bitten pear in Kazahaya's hand from his hair and took a bite. "Ah, you were saying…"

Before Kazahaya could respond, the usual brief banging on the door in lieu of good manners, preceded Kakei and Saiga barging into the apartment, and the boys flew apart.

"Good _morning!"_ boomed Saiga. "And how's our little Kudo-kun today? I brought you some pears for breakfast." And he did, in fact, have two pears in hand.

"And watermelon," said Kakei, looking impish.

Kazahaya, beet red, leaped up and took the watermelon. "Uh, thanks, I'm … fine. I should put this in the kitchen…"

Kakei happily followed him into the kitchen. "He won't realize, you know. That you 'remember' about the watermelon. He's too embarrassed himself to notice. You can have a _lot_ of fun with that."

Kazahaya, carefully facing away from Kakei, remembered an imagining, in a memory of a… different color… than his own. _Let me kiss him again. I'll buy a watermelon. The juice will drip down his chest…_ And imagined the other side. _My side. His tongue licking down my chest, teasing a nipple, chasing a juice rivulet down the midline, tongue thrusting into my bellybutton…and down..._

He cleared his throat. "I dunno what you're talking about," he said in a voice that sounded rather strangled.

"Oh, yes. You _do,_" Kakei whispered evilly in his ear. "But if you don't mind a little friendly advice, not telling him isn't _just_ for the teasing value, _fun_ as that is. You may want to give each other a little time. To get used to being_ that_… intimate. Speaking from experience, you see."

"I, uh, see your point," Kazahaya said, now sounding completely strangled. _This is going to be… really interesting._ "Kakei… I don't know how to thank you for this birthday present. It's… _huge."_

"You're very, _very _welcome, Kudo-kun."

- the end -

_AN : Well, let me know if that's too lame an ending, maybe I can do better. I had lots of other ideas, but … maybe this'll serve. Can do other things with another story arc, and preserves my T rating, while hopefully giving M imaginations some new and fruitful directions. ;)_


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